Newest College Application Essays

It’s safe to say that I went through an awkward stage primarily during my middle school days. Foreign endorphins, peer pressure and poor judgment basically describe grades six through eight. This period of self-identity stretched into my high...

Some of my earliest and most vividly hazy memories involve riding in the backseat of an old Honda Civic. The seats were a stripey velour that stuck to the backs of my legs when the air conditioning stopped working, and the back window was lined...

It was Valentine’s Day six years ago. There were no roses, chocolate, or any romanticism in the air; there was instead, the scent of puke, fear, sea spray, yet a trace of freedom. It is mind-boggling what a human being is capable of enduring for...

Imagine coming from a neighborhood in which the only thing that is promised is death. I lost one of my closest friends a few months ago to gun violence. Witnessing this horror changed my perspective: I want to have a successful life. Killings and...

People’s cultures are like fingerprints--no two are ever the same. Although I was born in the United States, I can truly say that I have grown up with two different cultures. My family originates from Egypt, and I am the first generation to be...

In the classic Greek epic, ‘The Odyssey,’ Homer idealizes Odysseus for portraying two attributes: physical and intellectual strength. These are the two qualities that help the protagonist on his difficult journey. Greek society is similar to the...

Out of breath and hurting all over, I drip with sweat in the midst of a six-minute wrestling bout with my friend, James. While fighting on the bottom and gasping for air, I am reminded of Einstein’s words: “When you are courting a nice girl an...

I gaze at the pieces of an intricate puzzle: A stone Indian elephant on my desk, and a pale Korean doll on the shelf above it, draped in crimson and gold, with flowing black hair. The wall is adorned with my name on a sheet of white silk, my name...

“I don't want to be a product of my environment. I want my environment to be a product of me.” (Jack Nicholson – The Departed)

When I was a child, my best friend was (wait for it) a stick.

It became an extension of my arm, a conduit for my...

“This Jedi is female, so she’s not as smart.” The young man, Max, chortled this to his scene partner as our improvised Star Wars play came racing towards its climax. I stood backstage, suddenly feeling jarred. My character throughout the play had...

My family is anything but sedentary. Already in my life I have lived in Florida, Oklahoma, Texas, and have found myself in England nearly every summer. I have explored the rainforests of Australia and New Zealand, braved the oppressive heat of...

When I turned sixteen, my grandparents took me out to the lavish Sixteen restaurant in Chicago. “Sixteen for sixteen,” they said. Over microscopic spoonfuls of diced cucumbers, which the restaurant dubbed "a salad," my Grandma handed me a velvety...

Failure is thought to demolish everything you are, but in truth is vital to self-realization and self-acceptance. I take pride in my ability to fail: to crash and burn, but to come out healed and ready. Yet in all my life I have never once been...

I never took the saying "window of opportunity" literally until I walked up to the "pick up" window at my local CVS. Better yet, there were two windows, one for "drop off" as well. These windows served as a sneak peek to the world behind the...

During my sophomore year, I took an elective history course, “Rediscovering the Lives of Women.” Learning about prominent female figures in history, as well as how society perceived and affected them, prompted me to reflect on how gender shapes my...

I first traveled to several different universes when I turned eight and fearlessly battled the worst creatures ever imagined. That was when I read A Wrinkle in Time.

I experienced the adventures of whaling and the sea when I was sixteen, fighting...

It is common in literature, poetry, and musical lyrics to use walking as a metaphor for life. This past summer, that metaphor took on a whole new meaning for me. In twenty-six long days, I walked about 700 kilometers across Northern Spain — from...

“$3.50, please.” I open up my worn wallet and fumble around for enough quarters, nickels, and dimes to pay for my Taco Bell burrito. I’m five cents short. A shake of my purse yields five lingering pennies, and my stomach and I sigh together in...

Warm, fluffy bread -- because Romanians cannot eat any meal without it. Pillowy pumpkin spinach ravioli -- a recipe my mother got from a chef in Italy in exchange for her strudel recipe. And apple pie -- because the U.S. makes the best. This could...

“A man who trusts nobody is apt to be the kind of man nobody trusts.” - Harold MacMillan

Scuba diving is a special activity - physically demanding yet acutely spiritual. It has its own code of honour that all divers must comply with. It is an...

My fingers pirouetted up and down the fingerboard, spiraling faster than the notes running through my head. Every white callous and bloody blister had led up to this moment, as I could feel all those hours of repetition, struggle, and stumbling...

Sitting in the auditorium of Cherry Creek High School, I felt a sudden apprehension in the pit of my stomach. After a long and tumultuous journey, I was here at last. I, along with two of my friends and teammates, had spent the better part of the...

Lists are my forte. To-do lists, shopping lists, top ten lists, BuzzFeed lists; just name a list and I have a detailed version doodled on my planner. My list-making habit originated at an early age, around the same time I started to engage in...

I am a seventeen year old mother. Every single day after completing seven hours of rigorous Advanced Placement classes, I am ready to take on the responsibility of caring for a boy who desperately needs my help in order to grow up. I meet him at...